Conventionally with vehicles fitted with an automatic transmission incorporating a torque converter, in order to alleviate the gear selection shock and reduce the loading on components such as the differential during selector operation from a stop range (N or P range) to a drive range (D, 1, 2, R range) with the accelerator pedal depressed, or when the accelerator pedal is depressed immediately after selector operation to give a rapid take off, the engine output over the gear change period is reducingly corrected with respect to an output corresponding to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal.
More specifically, when the engine-rotational speed is above a predetermined value at the time of selector operation, fuel injection amount is reduced or the ignition timing is delayed so as to reduce the engine output. Then, when a time differential of the engine rotational speed changes from a negative to a positive value, that is, when the rotational speed changes from reducing to increasing, it is judged that the gear selecting operation has been completed, and output reduction correction is terminated (see for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-105228).
With the conventional gear selection control system, when in a stop range with the engine speed reducing from a high speed, then if the accelerator pedal is depressed so as to give a rapid take off immediately after selector operation to a drive range, the following problems arise. That is to say, with the above situation, since as shown in FIG. 6 the engine rotational speed changes to increasing immediately after depressing the accelerator pedal, this gives an erroneous judgement that the gear change has been completed, and the output reduction correction is cancelled. Thus, since the gear selecting operation commences after the increase in engine rotational speed, this gives rise to problems in that gear selection shock cannot be sufficiently alleviated and load on components such as the differential is increased.
In view of the above heretofore encountered problems, it is an object of the present invention to be able to sufficiently alleviate gear selection shock even with the above operation at the time of take off.
It is a further object of the present invention to be able to reduce the load on components such as the differential, thereby facilitating size and weight reduction of such components.